Chapter 35: Future regrets
Aira’s POV
A groan leaves my lips as I slowly return to the conscious world. A sharp pang strikes my head, causing me to hiss. I feel someone shuffle beside me, and a warm breath blows over the top of my head.
“Ssh, take it easy.”
I had to open my eyes to make certain that the voice I heard belonged to the right person. Because there was no way the Alex I knew could speak with such a soft and gentle tone. But the second I parted my eyelids, I was graced with his devilishly handsome face.
There is something different about him. His hair is a mess, and the bags beneath his eyes suggest that he has been up all night. But what concerns me most are the tints of red at the corners of his eyes.
I squint up at him and ask, “Were you crying?”
He blinks up at me with surprise, but it takes him less than a second to recover. He rolls his eyes and looks away from me.
“Of course not; you only suffered a concussion. Why would I cry because of that?”
I suffered a what?
The events of the previous night begin to replay in my mind. The party, Jace calling me out to the garden, Jace telling me to run away with him and get back with him, my rejection, and… that damn bastard! I can’t believe he had the guts to slap me!
And so violently, I might add.
My hand shakily goes up to my head, and my fingertips meet something hard aside from skin. It goes around my head, and I instantly recognize it as a bandage. That’s bad, huh?
“Alpha Rafael’s mate is a nurse; she helped bandage you up and make sure there was no further damage to that thick skull of yours,” Alex explains, and I roll my eyes at his reference.
My hands cover my face with shame. “That means everyone knows what happened. The dinner was ruined!”
“Hey,” Alex says, taking my hands off my face so I can look at him. “The dinner was actually going quite well when you left. Everyone had a good time… well, until I came in with your unconscious body and blood dripping down your head.”
A pout takes over my lips. Yes, it is true that I organized this dinner for the sole purpose of making Jace and Ana jealous. I actually did want the rest of the guests to have a good time. I got to bond with most of them, but of course, everything good that happens in my life gets ruined.
“Where is he? Jace?” I ask, and Alex’s jaw visibly tightens.
“He got away. I wanted to go after him, but I…” He pauses, then meets my eyes. “You weren’t moving. I couldn’t just leave you.”
His words tug at my heart strings. I take a good look at him, and that is when I confirm my earlier question. He had been crying. And I doubt he got even a wink of sleep.
“You were worried,” I state, and he shrugs.
“Yeah, maybe I was. I mean, I couldn’t have the woman I just flaunted in front of everyone die at my dinner party, now could I?” he says, and I shake my head in denial.
“No, that is not why you were worried. You were actually scared.” Slowly, a smile stretches my lips. “The great alpha Alexander cares for another soul apart from his own.”
He shoots me a glare and says, “Don’t push it.”
I burst out laughing but immediately regretted that decision because another wave of pain struck my head. “Ow.”
“Alright, you need to get something to eat. Where is that damn woman?” He says the last part more to himself than to me. Shortly after, a knock comes from the door, and he goes to answer it. A maid stands on the other side with a tray of food in her hands.
Alexander takes it from her and slams the door in her face. My jaw drops.
He walks back to the bed, and I shoot him a disapproving glare. “You could have at least told her thank you.”
He rolls his eyes as he sits beside me on the bed with the food. “Oh, please, I told her to come up with that food over an hour ago. She wasted my time.”
“You forget that we have other guests in the house. She must have gotten caught up; it’s not her fault.” I defend, and he only hums in response. “You have to learn to be a lot nicer to people, Alex.”
“I will think about it,” he says calmly, and I can’t believe how hard headed he is. My breath catches when he leans closer to me, his eyes pin mine to the spot, and my heart freezes when our lips are barely an inch apart.
What’s he doing?
Just when I think that we are about to have yet another intimate moment, he wraps his arm around my back and helps me to sit up. He rearranges the pillows so I can rest my back while staying in a sitting position before pulling away from me.
Oh.
He picks up a piece of toast and brings it to my lips. “I can feed myself,” I inform him.
“I know,” is his simple reply. I know it would be better to just go along with this rather than argue with him, so I let him feed me. For a while, neither of us say anything; he just watches me carefully as he stuffs my mouth with food.
“I don’t think I can finish all of this,” I say with my mouth full, and a sly grin lifts his lips. He is enjoying this, isn’t he?
I pick up a piece of toast and shove it into his mouth. He chuckles but eats it nonetheless.
There was something about this moment that was just so innocent; I cherished it. Lord, know when I will ever get another like it again.
We finish the food on the tray, and he helps me wipe my mouth before putting the tray on the nightstand. “Thank you,” I say honestly. I never would have thought Alex had it in him to be this sweet.
“Don’t thank me; you are my wife,” he says, and my heart freezes in my chest. Well, until I added, “At least until our guests downstairs leave.”
“But they can’t see us now; you didn’t have to do all of this,” I tell him, and his hand cups my face. I find myself slowly sinking into his touch; it’s so warm and comforting.
“I know.”
What he does next is sure to knock me unconscious once again.
He kisses me.
The kiss leaves me shocked for a brief moment, but slowly I find myself kissing him back. His lips are so soft and sweet. Sadly, it does not last long before a knock comes through from the other side.
Alex curses before taking in a sharp breath. “Great timing, Ken,” he says lowly, and my eyebrows crease.
“Who is that?” I ask him, and he looks up at me with a sly grin. For the first time since I have known him, I find genuine excitement in his eyes. Now, that is just scary.
He gets off the bed and goes to answer the door. “There is someone I would like you to meet, Aira.”
He opens the door, and a man in a white and gray suit walks in. He seems to be a bit older than Alex, but nowhere near as handsome as he is. In his hand is a briefcase, and I wonder what could possibly be inside it.
“Aira, this is Kennedy, my lawyer,” Alex says, and I am only more confused than before.
Kennedy waves at me, and I offer him an awkward smile. He drops his suitcase on the table beside the door. He opens it and brings out some papers and a pen. He walks up to me and hands it over. I stare at the papers with perplexity and look at the two men.
“What’s this?” I ask them.
“This is the deed to your home and every other asset that was taken away from you by that bastard Jace,” Alex explains, and my eyes grow as wide as saucers.
“But how is that possible? All of them were all signed into his name,” I say, reading through the papers to ensure this wasn’t some sort of scam or prank.
“Yes, that may be so, but Kennedy here is one of the best lawyers in the country. He hasn’t lost a case in over seven years, and I doubt he would start with mine. Isn’t that right, Kennedy?” Alex asks, and the fear in the poor lawyer’s eyes is evident.
I read through the deed, and my vision began to blur with tears. “But what will happen to Jace?”
Alex shrugs. “He will be homeless and broke. But I had some security wait at your place in case he goes there thinking the place is still his. That is when I will get him and rip his head off his pussy shoulders.”
He is always so vulgar with his words.
I stare at the deed with disbelief. “I just don’t understand. This wasn’t part of the agreement; why would you do this?” I ask Alex, and he stares at me like he is searching for the answer himself.
“I don’t know,” he says.
Without thinking, I jump out of bed and wrap my arms around him. His body grows still beneath my touch, but that did not make me let go of him. Instead, I bury myself in his chest as a few tears slide down my cheeks.
“Thank you,” I said into his chest. And as a response, he hugs me back. When we pull away, I sign the deed and hand it to Kenndey.
“Congratulations, Aira; all that you have lost is finally yours once again,” he says before taking his leave.
“Does this mean I can go back home?” I ask Alex, and his laughter lacks humor.
“Not even in your dreams.”
I should have known.
I suppose I can rent it out.
We head down the stairs to see our guests off. My heart warmed up when some of them didn’t want to leave before ensuring I was okay. We saw all of them off and waved them all goodbye as they drove out of our mansion.
All except one person.
Alex and I spin around to find Ana on her knees and sobbing profusely.
“Aira, please don’t kick me out; I have nowhere else to go,” she says, and my eyes harden. After what happened last night, I have seen neither hide nor skin from her. Did she even care to know if I was alright? It just goes to show that she is still very much that vile twin sister of mine who never cared if I lived or died.
And I shouldn’t if she did either.
“You can go find your husband and live with him,” I suggest, and she looks up at me with wide, horrified eyes.
“No, you don’t understand. All of this was Jace’s idea. Look, I know you know I have never liked you since we were kids. But for God’s sake, you are my sister! Why would I ever want to kill you?” She pleads, her bottom lip trembling as she speaks.
Alex stands between us and says, “But you happily married her mate, left her homeless without any money or food, and you think we would believe you if you said you didn’t want her dead?”
She places her head on the floor as she continues to weep. “If I tried to help you out, Jace would have killed me! Yes, I did have my eyes on him the first time I saw him with you, Aira. But that was long before I knew what kind of monster he was. Please, you have to believe me.”
I find myself trying to process her words. Was she telling the truth? To be honest, I knew Ana had always hated me, but leaving me out to die was something I never thought she could do to me.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
“I love you, Aira; you are my sister. Please just let me stay until I get a place for myself. Please…” she says, holding me captive with her teary gaze.
What should I do? What would my parents want me to do?
Sighing and shutting my eyes, I knew I would regret the words that were about to leave my mouth.
“Fine, you can stay.”
She smiles up at me while Alex looks at me like I have gone mad.
“What?! No, she can’t!” he seethes and takes a step towards her.
I block his path, looking up at him pleadingly, “She is my sister. Everyone who has ever done me wrong is an outsider; she is my blood. Just for a few weeks, please.”
Alex says nothing; rather, he gets angrier by the second.
“I just hope you won’t be swimming in regret by then,” he says before storming away from us.
I hope so, too.